Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

Printer-Friendly Version

Press Releases

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that Qi Sheng Chen, doing business as Chen’s Super Buffet in Shawnee, Kan., has paid a total of $38,348 to 18 employees to correct violations of the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

“The Labor Department is committed to ensuring that workers receive all the wages they have earned,” said Aracelis Scarbrough, acting district director of the department’s Wage and Hour Division office in Kansas City. “I am pleased that we were able to recover back wages for these low-wage workers.”

An investigation by the Wage and Hour Division found that the restaurant’s employees were paid a fixed monthly salary that did not cover minimum wage for all hours worked. A number of employees also worked up to 60 hours per week and were not paid the additional half time for hours worked more than 40 per week.

The FLSA requires that covered workers be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked, and one and one-half their regular rates of pay for hours worked more than 40 in a single week. Employers also must maintain adequate and accurate records of employees’ wages, hours and other conditions of employment.

Effective July 24, 2007, the federal minimum wage for covered non-exempt employees will be $5.85 per hour. The minimum wage will increase to $6.55 per hour effective July 24, 2008, and $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009.

For more information about the FLSA, call the Department of Labor’s toll-free help line at (866) 4US-WAGE (487-9243), visit the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov or contact the Wage and Hour Division’s Kansas City District Office at (913) 551-5721.

###

U.S. Department of Labor releases are accessible on the Internet at www.dol.gov. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format (large print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the COAST office upon request. Please specify which news release when placing your request at (202) 693-7828 or TTY (202) 693-7755. The Labor Department is committed to providing America’s employers and employees with easy access to understandable information on how to comply with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit www.dol.gov/compliance.